Adjustable bench-vise.



PATENTED JUNE 21, 1904.

' P. BRoADBooKs. ADJUSTABLE BENCH VIsE.

4 APPLIOATION FILED JUNE vso, 190s. no xonm..

UNITED STATES Patented June 21, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ADJUSTABLE BENCH-vvlsE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,087, dated June 21, 1904.

Appnmion nea June 3.o, 1903.

To al?, whom, t may concern: A

Be it known that I, PETER BRoADBooKs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Batavia,county of Genesee, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Adjustable Bench Vises, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to `a new and useful improvement in adjustable bench-vises, and has for its object to provide avise which will have a greater radius of adjustment than that afforded by the screw'.

A further object is to provide a vise in which the jaws can be instantly, conveniently, and easily adjusted to the work, which shall be simple in adjustment and construction and strong in all its parts and having apowerful positive grip at any point of its opening to its fullest capacity.

Another advantage of the vise is to provide a hand-lever for the screw which shall be noiseless in operation and harmless to the operators hands.

With these ends inview this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how 4 to makeanduse thesame, the construction and operation will now'be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings,form ing a. part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my vise with all the parts assembled; Fig.l2, a longitudinal section of the same; Fig 3, a sectiony on the line 3 3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4, av modified form of construction, *showing a ratchet-clutch instead of a friction-clutch; Fig. '5, a detail side elevation of a portion of the shaft, showing holes formed therein, through which pins may be inserted instead of the other forms of clutches.

j A represents the forward or movable jaw of the vise, andB is the rear or xed jaw of Serin No. 163,820. el@ model.)

able jaw A. A screw I) is threaded into the forward end of the shaft, and this screw is swiveled in the ordinary manner in the movable jaw A. The head D of the screw extends forward from the jaw A, and through this head extends the hand-lever E, which is provided with knobs upon either end to prevent thevsame from being removed from the head D.

In the ordinary construction. of vises the knobs upon the ends of the hand-levers are of metal and cause considerable noise when the same drop upon the head of the screw and also are liable to cause injury to the hands of theoperator. In my improved vise a hemisphere f rubber, as representedat F, is slipped upon the shouldered end of the-lever E, and then a cap or nut in the form of a hemisphere is screwed onto the outer end of the lever, as represented at G2, to Yhold the rubber buffer F in place. Thus the hand-lever in falling will bring the rubber buffer in contact with the head o f the screw and prevent unnecessary noise and injury to the hands of the operator. In Figs. l, 2, and 3 I have shown the shaft C journaled upon each side, the channeledA secured to portion having beveled walls@ the fixed jaw B and` extending inward into the channel of the shaft C. Uponeach side are studs Gr, which are adapted to clutch the shaft C. These studs Gr are beveled or rounded upon their upper and lower edges, las represented at G, and secured to the jaw B below the'shaft is a spring H, the front end ofwhich bears upon the under side of the shaft C behind the studs Gr, so as to tilt the same up- Y' ward and cause thev edges of' ythe studs Gr to bite into the shaft and prevent (any forward movement of the shaft relative to the fixed jaw`B. In this manner a friction-clutch is provided, whereby the shaft C ean'be easily pushed backward; but to pull the same forward it is necessary to raise the forward end of the shaft by pulling upon the-A hand-lever 4 E, and then the shaft may be slid forward as far as desired. Thu'sinoperation thescrewD can be used for all ordinary size work; but when it is desired to clamp larger work all that is necessary is to raise upward upon-the forward end of the shaft and pull the same forwardand.v any range or adjustment canbe secured, onlylimited by the length of the shaft.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to any form of clutch for clutching the shaft C, as a ratchet I could be provided upon the side of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 4, and a pawl J engage the ratchet, which pawl could be disengaged when it is desired to adjust the shaft, or the shaft could be provided with a num- 'ber of lateral holes K and a pin inserted through the fixed jaw B and through one of the holes K to secure the shaftin place, or instead of a stud G upon each side of the shaft only one stud could be used, if so desired. Notice is also called to the improvement in the shape of the jaws, as by having the neck of the jaws shaped with square corners at right angles, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, it vwill be seen that work having right angles may be placed nearer to the center of the jaws more conveniently than in the vise having rounded corners, and the work being placed near to the center will not strain the jaws sidewise as much as in the case of a round-neck vise.

The shaft in my vise is made vof suitable steel for the purpose and is absolutely'unbreakable under any strain which may be brought to bear upon it while in use. Said shaft being narrower than a slide in ordinary cast vises will allow the work to be placed nearer the center of thel jaw and will allow work to straddle said shaft more freely on account of its narrowness, which is of considerable importance.. Straddling the shaft with the heel end of horseshoes by blacksmiths or forked work by machinists is a greatV convenience, which cannot be accomplished as well on an ordinary cast vise on account of the great width required for the room for the screw and also to gain strength, as the weakest point of all cast vises is in the front end of the slide.

By having the front jaw, as in my improved vise, slidable upon the shaft and also capableof lbeing manipulated with a screw and by having the shaft slidable in the rear jaw makes it by far the most convenient and quick-adjusting vise ever produced. rIhe screw being 'located at the upper edge of the shaft brings the fulcrum nearer to the jaws. Conseqnently it has more power at the jaws than any other vise 'having concealed or shielded screw. The screw being short will stand more twisting strain than if made of great length, a's isnecessary in other vises. There-- fore the screw in my vise can be made of less diameter and yet be stronger and more effective than a long screw and is much less expensive to make. The extension and projection upon the lower extremity of the front jaw provides greater bearing-surface to its slideway, and the opening shown on the bottoni side of said front jaw will provide tool room through which to fasten the loose col lar upon the shank of the vise-screw, which is located at the inner side andatthe end of the movable jawandwhichcauses the return movement of said jaw. It is obvious that an eccentric or other means beside a screw may be attached to the shaft and swiveled to a movable jaw for removing the movable jaw relative to the shaft, and I do not wish 'to be limited to the exact construction here shown, as slight modifications could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful isl. In a vise, a fixed jaw, aA movable jaw, a shaft extending through the fixed jaw and into the movable jaw, and slidable in both, a screw or other Vmeans attached to the end of the shaft and swiveled to the movable jaw for moving the movable jaw relative to the shaft, a friction-clutch adapted to be secured to the fixed jaw and adapted to engage the shaft so as to allow for the backward movement of the shaft relative to the fixed jaw to prevent any -forward movement of the same unless the forward end of the 'shaft is raised, and'a spring adapted to set the rearward end of the shaft upward and cause the clutch to engage the shaft, as specified.

2. In a vise of the character described, a screw for moving the movable jaw, a head formed upon the screw, a hand-lever slidable through said head, knobs formed upon each end of' the hand-lever, each of said knobs consisting of a hemisphere of rubber and a hemisphere of metal, the rubber being placed upon the ends of the hand-lever next to the head of the screw, and the metal being threaded upon the extreme end ofthe hand-lever to hold the rubber hemisphere in place, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a vise, a fixed jaw, a movable jaw, a shaft extending through the fixed jaw and into the movable jaw and slidable in both, a screw attached to the end of the shaft and swiveled to the movable jaw for moving the movable jaw relative to the shaft, said shaft being provided with a longitudinal channel portion having beveled walls, studs secured to the fixed -ja-w and. extending into the channel of the shaft, said studs beveled or rounded upon their upper and lower edges, a spring secured to the fixed jaw, the free end of the spring bearing against the under side of the shaft behind the studs so as to tilt the shaft upward and cause the edges of the studs to bite into the shaft and prevent inward movement of the shaft relative to the fixed jaw, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETR BaoADBooks. Witnesses:

' F. L. Hanns,

GRACE MOWER.

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